Too Short On Settlement

It could be lights out for a recording studio in Oakland, Calif., if an overdue court settlement owed by rapper Too Short isn’t paid soon.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s office has been ordered to seize equipment from Too Short’s recently opened UpAllNite Studio to pay the remainder of a settlement that totals more than $1 million, the Oakland Tribune reported.

The settlement reportedly stems from a head-on collision in 1991 that the rapper was involved in that killed one passenger and seriously injured the other.

According to court documents obtained by the Tribune, Too Short was uninsured and legally drunk at the time, although he wasn’t found directly responsible for the crash.

The family of the passenger who died filed a wrongful death lawsuit and reached the $1 million settlement with Too Short in 1996 but claim they’ve yet to see much of the money.

The rapper has paid $282,000 thus far, court documents said.

Montie Day, a lawyer who was hired to collect the rest of the settlement, told the Tribune he’s had to go after the rapper’s assets and earnings after being told Too Short didn’t have the money to pay the remainder.

However, Phaedra Parks, Too Short’s lawyer, told the paper that while the rapper hasn’t been able to pay the lump sum, he’d like to "reach an agreement everyone can live with."

Sheriff’s deputies have reportedly made repeated attempts to serve Too Short with an order to turn over his assets and appear in court August 13.